


The Morning Commute

by spirithorse



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-08 23:37:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12875493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirithorse/pseuds/spirithorse
Summary: A chance encounter on the commute to work leaves Mikleo with just the medicine he needed after a call with horrible news.





	The Morning Commute

**Author's Note:**

  * For [defragmentise (croixsouillees)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/croixsouillees/gifts).



> Nami and I were throwing meet cute ideas back and forth, which is how this came to be. Literally just an excuse for fluff.

Mikleo stared at his phone, only moving to press the home button to light up the screen. It didn’t change anything, the message remained the same. The same words texted from his mother’s phone: _At hospital. Will tell you when we know more_.

He shivered, running his thumb over the screen. The text was only a few minutes old, definitely not enough time for more information to come in. That still didn’t stop him from staring fixedly at it. After all, everything had seemed fine that morning. He’d woken up with his alarm and bumbled through the house and down the road to the train station. He’d waited there in his usual partial doze for the train, but his phone had rung instead.

He had thought that it was a call from his mother and thought nothing of it. But when he had picked up it had been his Uncle Michael telling him things that didn’t quite make sense.

His mother had gone to check on his grandfather and found him collapsed on his kitchen floor. That’s all that Michael had been able to tell him, but that was more than enough to worry him. The message hadn’t really helped, but it was better than nothing, but it left him at loose ends.

The call had come just as the training was pulling in, and he had moved on autopilot. He’d been sitting in a seat and the train moving away before Michael had finished telling him what had happened. Now he was heading into the city with nothing left but endless hours of waiting stretching out before him. Michael had said that everything was under control and it would be easier to get back home from the city, but he was at a loss of what to do.

He looked away from his phone, glancing out the window. The countryside rolled by steadily, but Mikleo didn’t really see it. His mind was still spinning along the same track.

He couldn’t understand how Gramps could just collapse. He was the fittest person that Mikleo knew. Gramps always acted like he was twenty instead of seventy. It just didn’t make sense.

There was no answer that he could think of. And nothing to do but wait. That didn’t sit right with him.

Mikleo bit his lip, dragging his gaze away from the verge by the railway. He intended to glance back at his phone on the off chance that his mother or uncle had texted him back, but he was distracted by a small face leaning very close to his.

Mikleo startled back, staring at the girl. She was a usual sight on the train with her flyaway blonde hair barely confined to a ponytail and her bright purple backpack. Mikleo had seen her running for the train with her father plenty of times and he’d been aware that they were usually in the same carriage but she’d never approached him like this.

He shifted in his seat, tempted to get up and walk away but she was staring fixedly at him. She tipped her head to the side, cuddling her orange and cream stuffed bird close to her chest. She considered him from over the stuffed animal’s head. Her stillness only lasted a moment before she scrambled up into the seat beside him. The girl settled into place, letting the bird rest in her lap. She patted the bird twice before focusing on him again. “Why are you sad?”

“What?”

“Sad.” The girl tipped her head to the side. The girl smiled at him, patting her stuffed bird. That seemed to distract her for a while, although she was quick to look back at him. “Did something bad happen?”

At a loss of what to do, Mikleo nodded.

That seemed to be what the girl was waiting for because she tipped her chin up slightly. She looked him up and down before reaching over at dropping her stuffed bird into his lap. “Then you need this. Mommy says that it’s important to get hugs when you’re sad. MaoMao gives the best hugs.”

Mikleo stared at the bird, sure that he was missing something. He felt like he was several steps behind the conversation, and he didn’t get the chance to catch up.

“Lily!”

The girl perked up at the name. She scrambled up onto her knees, peering at something at the other end of the carriage. She waved before sliding off of the seat. “I have to go, Daddy is calling.”

She tore down the aisle, Mikleo hearing her shout something distantly. He dropped his gaze to the brightly colored bird in his lap as the train rocked to a stop again. He could see a spot where the plush of the fabric was worn through after so many pettings. His gaze didn’t linger on the bird long, Mikleo looking back at his phone. He clicked it on again, staring at his messages. Nothing had changed.

Mikleo sighed, absently pulling the bird closer to him as the train rocked again. He glanced out the window, watching as the girl and the man walked down the platform. If they were going, then it meant that his stop was next. The thought was a distant one, flitting through his mind before it turned back to the problem of his grandfather.

He turned to look out the window again, one hand holding tightly to his phone, the other cradling the stuffed animal.

* * *

MaoMao was an Elysalark.

Mikleo had found that out through about five minutes of searching and then a minute of vague shame. Elysalarks stopped off in Elysia on their migrations south, and he should have recognized the orange and cream bird for what it was.

He sighed and sat back in his chair, looking over at where MaoMao was sitting on his desk. The stuffed animal stared back at him, implacable. Mikleo felt the strange urge to reach out and pet the bird, because it was soft. He dragged his fingers over the bird’s head before grabbing onto it. He pulled the stuffed animal to his chest, hugging it close before he realized what he was doing.

Mikleo sucked in a deep breath, staring at the wall of his office. He knew what he should have done; he should have given the stuffed bird back to the girl on the train, but she’d been gone before he could do anything. The stuffed animal was obviously well loved, Mikleo could feel patches where the soft fabric had been worn thin. It reminded him of his stuffed sheep, Warren. Or that’s the last name he could remember it having. It had been his companion through his childhood, all three iterations. Muse had told him that he had gone through three of them, loving them until they were ragged and had to be replaced. He hadn’t been able to sleep without Warren. He’d grown out of it, but Warren was still with him. The sheep kept a careful watch on his room from his place on a shelf. MaoMao was probably just as important to the girl.

He sighed and sat back in his chair, looking down at the bird in his arms. He turned it over, searching for a name or any kind of address. There was nothing, which just left him with the option of giving the bird back on the train home. After all, he was always catching the same train as them, at least that he could remember. Mikleo patted the bird’s back, not sure if he was trying to calm himself or the bird.

Mikleo shook his head. The bird didn’t need calming, it was a stuffed animal. The girl probably needed it, she had given her precious stuffed animal to a stranger and was probably regretting it.

He groaned and went to set MaoMao back on the desk when his cell phone rang.

Mikleo dropped MaoMao to his lap, scrambling for his phone. It skittered across the surface of the desk, Mikleo lunging for it when he started to move away from him. He pressed the answer button with shaking fingers, moving to cradle the phone against his ear and the stuffed animal against his chest. He squeezed MaoMao close as he listened for the person on the other line.

“Mikleo?”

He breathed out a shaky sigh of relief at his mother’s voice. “Mom?”

“Hey sweetheart.” Muse sounded exhausted. If he strained himself, he could hear the steady beep of something in the background. Mikleo swallowed, pressing the phone more tightly against his ear.

“H-how is he?”

“He’s fine.” Muse sighed, the sound coming out as an almost laugh at the end.

“Mom?”

“He’s fine and I’m fine. It’s just been a long day.” Muse was silent for a while, that enough to make Mikleo clutch MaoMao closer to him. Thankfully she didn’t make him wait too long. He heard her groan before she started talking again. “Gramps is fine.”

“They found out what’s wrong.”

“Yes. Gramps just had a twisted ankle.”

“How?”

“He and Taccio were working on each other’s gardens over the weekend and he managed to hurt himself. Apparently, he thought he would be fine after painkillers and good sleep. He tried to go about his day and his foot gave out in the kitchen.”

Mikleo winced, but he could see his grandfather doing that. His grandfather seemed to constantly believe that he was at least thirty years younger than he actually was. It was bad, because Mikleo was sure that Gramps had just made his foot worse along with any other injuries he had gotten while falling.

He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths before he spoke again. “How long is he going to be in the hospital?”

“Only until they’re done looking at his x-rays, just to be sure. If there’s nothing there, he should be back by this evening.”

“Do I need to come home?”

“I’d love you too, but Michael can keep an eye on him. He’s just started his sabbatical and he doesn’t plan to go out for a few weeks yet.”

“I can come in after that.”

“Thank you, but that might not be necessary. Gramps might be recovered by then. But please come and visit, maybe tomorrow. I’m sure he’ll have a sob story to tell and I’m not in the mood.”

That was almost enough to get him to chuckle. He could just imagine his mother’s annoyance at the scare. Gramps would have to be on his best behavior to ease her worry and anger. It would be good to give them a break from each other, and to give Uncle Michael a break. If he was going on sabbatical, then it meant that he was going back to working on his book, which meant that he was going to want quiet. That might not happen if Gramps was kept to his bed or his couch.

Mikleo smiled, holding the stuffed bird close to his chest. “I’ll be there tomorrow. I promise.”

“Thank you Mikleo.”

“Tell Gramps I love him, and to be careful.”

Muse huffed. “If I thought he would listen, I wouldn’t be here.”

Mikleo chuckled, smiling as she hung up the phone. He kept it against his ear for a moment before leaning forward to drop it back on his desk. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to linger in the wonderful feeling of the worry slipping away. Gramps wasn’t dying nor was he in any real trouble. That was something that he could deal with.

He gave MaoMao a squeeze, only then realizing that he was still clutching the stuffed animal. Mikleo looked down at MaoMao, meeting the stuffed animal’s beady gaze. He swallowed and gently petted MaoMao’s head.

The girl had been right, he’d needed something to hold onto through the worst of it and he did feel better. But that still left him with a problem. There was a kind girl who was without her stuffed Elysalark, and who would probably need it more than he did.

Mikleo looked at the clock before gently setting MaoMao on his desk. He’d bring the stuffed Elysalark back with him on the train and give it back to the girl with his thanks.

* * *

Mikleo played with MaoMao’s wing as the train came to a stop. He peered out at the platform, looking for a familiar windblown blonde hair. The platform was crowded, Mikleo meeting the gaze of all of the other adults waiting. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, watching the door.

He had positioned himself close to the door in the hopes that he would spot them. So far it had only gotten him long stares by the commuters on the way home. Mikleo supposed it was a bit strange to see an adult cradling a stuffed animal. It would be better if there was a child around that he could claim proximity to, but there were none to be seen. He tried to remember if there were any children on his usual commute other than the girl, but he came up blank.

He sighed, about to give up when he saw a familiar figure bound into the train with the man trailing behind her. She shuffled forward, her gaze darting immediately to him.

The girl smiled and gave him a wave, immediately rushing over. “Hello. MaoMao!”

“Where?” The man perked up, some of the worry disappearing from his face. “Oh thank goodness.”

The girl pulled herself into the open seat beside Mikleo, settling in despite the look that the man sent her. Mikleo smiled and passed the stuffed animal over to her, his gaze moving over to where the man was sitting down in the seats opposite them.

The man gave him a wary smile. “Thank you for finding him.”

The girl looked up from where she was smoothing her hand down MaoMao’s back. “I didn’t lose him. I told you, I gave MaoMao to him.”

“Why?”

“Because he looked sad.” The girl puffed herself up, a stubborn set to her jaw. “And Mommy said that you always need to have something to hug when you’re sad and he was alone. So I let him borrow MaoMao.”

“Lily, you don’t know him.”

She frowned and then abruptly turned and held out her hand. “I’m Lily Dipha and this is my friend MaoMao.”

Mikleo stared at her hand for a moment before smiling and taking her hand. He shook it gently. “It’s nice to meet you and MaoMao, Lily. I’m Mikleo Rulay. And I should thank you, because MaoMao helped me a lot.”

“You’re not sad anymore?”

“No.”

Lily grinned at him before turning to face the man again. “This is my dad, Sorey.”

Mikleo hesitated before reaching out his hand. Sorey sighed and shook Mikleo’s hand, a smile slowly crossing his face. “I’m Sorey Heldalf. Thank you for returning MaoMao to her. Lily loves that bird.”

“I can see that.” Mikleo looked over at where Lily was holding the Elysalark up to the window to show him the trees while chattering about what she did at school that day. Mikleo paid attention for a quick moment before looking back at Sorey. “You know…it really did help me.”

“With the sadness?” Sorey leaned forward, giving Mikleo a chance to look at his eyes.

They were green. Really green. Green like the glaze on the pottery that came out of the Age of Chaos Westronbolt Gorge villages. They were his favorite artifact. His favorite shade of green. It looked beautiful on Sorey.

Mikleo swallowed and nodded. “Yeah. I got some bad news this morning.”

Sorey made a sympathetic sound. “Is everything alright now?”

“Yes. Everything turned out fine.”

“That’s the miracle of MaoMao.” Sorey chuckled. It was a nice sound. It was almost enough to distract him from the next question that Sorey asked. “Listen, you did me a big favor by returning him, so it wouldn’t be fair for this to go without a reward.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to, I really do.” Sorey smiled. “Lily wouldn’t have been able to sleep if she didn’t have MaoMao, so it would have been a long night for me.”

Mikleo tipped his head to the side, the words slipping out before he could stop them. “Just you?”

Sorey shrugged. “Just me. Although I wouldn’t get a break once I sent her back to her moms without him. They’d probably come after me.”

Mikleo tried to ignore the way that his heart beat faster at the thought. His grandfather had just gotten hurt, so he should be worried. Then again, it was only a sprained ankle. That was hardly enough to stop him from thinking about whether the mention of sending Lily back and two mothers meant that Sorey was single.

He shifted in his seat, sure that his blush would give him away. “What would the reward entail?”

“I was thinking dinner on a weekend. Maybe a walk. Camlann has some interesting ruins but we don’t have to go there.”

Mikleo perked up at the mention of ruins, unable to keep the smile from crossing his face. It sounded an awful lot like a date, but he didn’t dare read too much into it. He swallowed and glanced over at where Lily had sat back to snuggle MaoMao close to her. “Will Lily be there?”

“If you mind I can get a baby sitter.”

“No, it’s fine.” Mikleo looked back at Sorey, feeling his heart flutter at the smile that Sorey gave him. He just barely stopped himself from saying that it was a date. That would be too forward. It would be better to take things one step at a time. Although, Mikleo was sure that he had an in.

He looked over as he felt something soft press against his arm. He smiled when he saw MaoMao there. Mikleo gently patted the bird’s head, hearing Lily giggle. He glanced back at Sorey, finding himself shifting closer. They had plenty of time before they reached their stops after all. It was plenty of time to get to know him and his daughter.


End file.
